


Family Reunion

by AKindofMagic93



Series: Family [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M, Romance, Slash, Swearing, mostly canon but certain characters still alive
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-20
Updated: 2015-07-03
Packaged: 2018-01-02 04:13:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1052391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AKindofMagic93/pseuds/AKindofMagic93
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Voldemort's defeat, Harry receives a letter from Dumbledore which has some shocking revelations. With help from an unlikely source, Harry sets out on yet another adventure. An adventure which has some revelations of its own. With a newfound friendship and romance, Harry's life is set to turn upside down.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Everything recognisable belongs to J. K. Rowling. I only own the plot and any OCs which may appear. The bit in italics at the beginning is taken directly out of Chapter Thirty-Six of the seventh book, which means that I don't own it.
> 
> Originally posted on fanfiction.net.

_All around the walls, the headmasters and headmistresses of Hogwarts were giving him a standing ovation; they waved their hats and in some cases their wigs, they reached through their frames to grip each other's hands; they danced up and down on the chairs in which they had been painted; Dilys Derwent sobbed unashamedly, Dexter Fortescue was waving his ear-trumpet; and Phineas Nigellus called, in his high, reedy voice, 'And let it be noted that Slytherin house played its part! Let our contribution not be forgotten!'_

_But Harry had eyes only for the man who stood in the largest portrait directly behind the Headmaster's chair. Tears were sliding down from behind the half-moon spectacles into the long silver beard, and the pride and the gratitude emanating from him filled Harry with the same balm as phoenix song._

_At last, Harry held up his hands, and the portraits fell respectfully silent, beaming and mopping their eyes and waiting eagerly for him to speak. He directed his words at Dumbledore, however, and chose them with enormous care. Exhausted and bleary-eyed though he was, he must make one last effort, seeking one last piece of advice._

_'The thing that was hidden in the Snitch,' he began, 'I dropped it in the Forest. I don't know exactly where, but I'm not going to go looking for it again. Do you agree?'_

_'My dear boy, I do,' said Dumbledore, while his fellow pictures looked confused and curious. 'A wise and courageous decision, but no less than I would have expected of you. Does anyone else know where it fell?'_

_'No one,' said Harry, and Dumbledore nodded his satisfaction._

_'I'm going to keep Ignotus's present, though,' said Harry, and Dumbledore beamed._

_'But of course, Harry, it is yours forever, until you pass it on!'_

_'And then there's this.'_

_Harry held up the Elder Wand, and Ron and Hermione looked at it with a reverence that, even in his befuddled and sleep-deprived state, Harry did not like to see._

_'I don't want it,' said Harry._

_'What?' said Ron loudly. 'Are you mental?'_

_'I know it's powerful,' said Harry wearily. 'But I was happier with mine. So ...'_

_He rummaged in the pouch hung around his neck, and pulled out the two halves of holly still, just, connected by the finest thread of phoenix feather. Hermione had said that they could not be repaired, that the damage was too severe. All he knew was that if this did not work, nothing would._

_He laid the broken wand upon the Headmaster's desk, touched it with the very tip of the Elder Wand and said, '_ Reparo _.'_

_As his wand resealed, red sparks flew out of its end. Harry knew that he had succeeded. He picked up the holly and phoenix wand, and felt sudden warmth in his fingers, as though wand and hand were rejoicing at their reunion._

_'I'm putting the Elder Wand,' he told Dumbledore, who was watching him with enormous affection and admiration, 'back where it came from. It can stay there. If I die a natural death like Ignotus, its power will be broken, won't it? The previous master will never have been defeated. That'll be the end of it.'_

_Dumbledore nodded. They smiled at each other._

_'Are you sure?' said Ron. There was the faintest trace of longing in his voice as he looked at the Elder Wand._

_'I think Harry's right,' said Hermione quietly._

_'That wand's more trouble than it's worth,' said Harry. 'And quite honestly,' he turned away from the painted portraits, thinking now only of the four-poster bed lying waiting for him in Gryffindor Tower, and wondering whether Kreacher might bring him a sandwich there, 'I've had enough trouble for a lifetime.'_

As Harry headed towards the exit, Dumbledore's voice stopped him, 'Harry, there's one more thing before you go.'

'Professor?' Harry wearily turned back to face Dumbledore's portrait.

'Go to the bottom drawer of the Headmaster's desk. In it there is a letter.' Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling like they always did when he knew something others did not.

Harry, curious, went over to the desk and opened the bottom drawer, only to see an envelope addressed to him. He reached in and pulled it out, closing the drawer again. He made to open it, only to be stopped by Dumbledore's voice again, 'Not now, Harry. Wait until you are alone.'

Harry, exhausted, chose not to argue with the former Headmaster and just accepted his words, wondering what the letter could possibly be about. He noticed that the emerald writing on the envelope belonged to Dumbledore, and wondered what was inside that Dumbledore could not tell him now.

He nodded slightly, and pocketed the letter, before going up to his four-poster bed for a well-earned sleep.

* * *

Harry woke up in the early hours of the next morning. Remembering the letter from the previous night, he grabbed his Invisibility Cloak and the letter, and headed out through the common room, looking for a quiet place to read it.

About a quarter of an hour later, Harry found himself in the Astronomy Tower. Throwing off the Cloak, he went to sit on the ledge, resting his back against the wall and bringing his legs up onto the ledge as well.

He gently slid the envelope open and took the letter out, unfolding it. The words on the parchment before him shocked him to his core, and he had to re-read it several times before it finally sunk in. Even then he hardly believed it.

_They were alive._


	2. Green and Grey

An hour later, Harry was still sat on the ledge of the Astronomy Tower, letter clutched tightly in his hands, staring straight ahead at the wall opposite him. To say it was May, there was a chill breeze that blew through the Tower, ruffling the raven locks atop Harry's head and making his hair even messier than it usually was. Even though he had read the letter too many times to count, he still had trouble processing the information within it. The one thing he had wished for his whole life he finally had. It was just too good to be true.

The peace and quiet of the night was disturbed by footsteps coming up the spiralled staircase, and Harry was brought out of his stupor as he turned his head to see who had appeared at the entrance. At first he couldn't tell who it was because of the dull light, apart from that they were male and fairly tall, until they moved forwards into the moonlight, allowing Harry to get a glimpse of the moonlight reflecting off a shock of platinum blond hair. Draco Malfoy. Now, once upon a time, Harry would have been irritated that it was Malfoy of all people that had found him up here, but now... now he couldn't care less. He was sick and tired of fighting and right now he did not have the energy to deal with him.

"Potter." Malfoy acknowledged. Harry's bright green eyes snapped up to meet Malfoy's dull grey ones and Harry realised with a flush of embarrassment, and some confusion, that he had been checking Malfoy out. "What are you doing up here?" Malfoy continued.

"Sitting, what does it look like I'm doing?" Harry retorted.

Malfoy opened his mouth to give a snappy retort of his own, but then just as quickly closed it, as if thinking better of the action. "Right… shouldn't you be off celebrating with all your adoring fans?" Malfoy's voice didn't hold any of its usual malice. In fact, it almost sounded… tired.

Nevertheless, Harry wasn't in the mood to deal with Malfoy. "Don't," he said. He brought his knees up to his chest and hugged them with his arms, resting his head on the wall behind.

"I'm surprised you haven't hexed me by now." Harry could have sworn he noticed a hint of bitterness in Malfoy's voice.

"Why would I do that?" Harry asked, genuinely confused.

"Because that's all we ever seem to do when we're in the same room as one another. Fight." Regret. Malfoy's voice was definitely tinged with regret.

"I'm sick and tired of fighting. I don't have the energy anymore." Harry sighed, and Malfoy noted that the tone of his voice reflected his words.

There were a few moments of silence before Malfoy spoke again, "Mind if I sit?"

"Go ahead I suppose," Harry shrugged, shifting slightly to make room for Malfoy, who sat opposite him.

Neither of them said anything for a while, both just staring up at the starry sky. It was Harry who broke the silence, remembering something. "Here," he said, holding out a very familiar Hawthorn and Unicorn hair wand to Malfoy. He had previously been twirling it between his fingers, and seemed to only just realise that he still had it.

"What's this?"

"Your wand," Harry replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Which it probably was.

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "I  _know_  what it is, Potter, what I mean is, why are you giving it to me?"

"Because it's yours. And I have no use for it, I have my own wand."

"But I thought you'd want to keep it, after all it  _is_  the wand that killed the Dark Lord. Besides, you won it off me fair and square."

"Since when were Malfoys fair?" Harry shot back, but he didn't give Malfoy time to come up with a retort as he continued, "I don't want to be reminded of what happened. Voldemort," at Malfoy's wince, Harry quickly amended his words, "sorry,  _You-Know-Who_ , ruined my childhood and if I keep that wand it will just remind me of what he did. And what  _I_  did. I don't like being a murderer, and if I was anyone else and You-Know-Who wasn't who he was the Ministry would lock me up in Azkaban. Anyway, at least now you can boast that you have the wand that killed the Dark Lord. And I don't care if I won it fair and square or not, I don't need two wands."

When Malfoy still didn't take his wand, Harry began to get frustrated and waved it in front of his face. "Just take it, Draco, if you don't I'll hex you and force you to take it." The use of his first name was not lost on Malfoy, and he looked surprised at the use of it. Harry, however, didn't seem to notice his slip.

Once Draco had gotten over hearing his first name from his schoolyard rival he muttered "Fine" before reluctantly taking his wand.

The two sat in silence once more.

After a while sitting in a comfortable silence, Malfoy spoke, his voice barely above a whisper, but in the utter silence of the Astronomy Tower, he didn't need to speak any louder for Harry to hear him. "How do you live with it?"

"With what?"

"How do you live with yourself, with what you've done?" Malfoy clarified.

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. For me I don't think it's really sunk in yet, what I did. But I suppose you just have to try to justify it to yourself. I wish there could've been another way, one that didn't make me a murderer, but at the end of the day the world's better off without You-Know-Who in it."

Malfoy looked away from Harry, and out towards the starry sky, "I nearly killed Weasley and Bell, I tried to kill Dumbledore, and I let Death Eaters into the school. How am I supposed to justify that to myself?"

Harry didn't know what to say, he hadn't really thought about those on the other side of the war, those who hadn't really had a choice, and how they'd have to live with their actions. "Well… why did you do all those things?"

Malfoy paused for a moment before saying, "Because the Dar- V-Voldemort threatened me and my family."

"There you are then," Harry said, "you were scared, and you were just trying to protect those you loved. Anyone else would've done the same."

"No, they wouldn't," Malfoy shot back quickly, his voice tinged with bitterness, "if it had been you, you would've found another way. But I guess I'm just weak."

"You're not weak, you're just-"

"-Not as strong as you." Malfoy interjected.

"I didn't say that."

"But you were thinking it."

"I think you're a lot stronger than people give you credit for."

Malfoy snorted, "People only see this." He brandished his left arm, where the Dark Mark sat, faded now that Voldemort was gone for good.

"People are idiots, they think they know someone just because of a Dark Mark or a scar," Harry absentmindedly rubbed the lightning bolt scar on his forehead, "things we can't control and have no choice over. You just have to prove them wrong."

Malfoy didn't have anything to say to that, but internally he was glad that at least one other person understood what he went through, what he was still going through.

What seemed like an eternity later, but in reality was more like a few minutes, Malfoy spoke. "Thank you." Malfoy's voice was so quiet, Harry had to strain to hear him, and even then, Harry did not believe he'd heard him right, for he never thought he would hear those two words come from Draco Malfoy's mouth.

Realising he hadn't yet replied, Harry asked, "What for?"

Malfoy turned his gaze from the dark blue sky to look straight into Harry's emerald eyes. "For saving my life," he replied, and Harry thought that he'd never heard so much sincerity in a person's voice, let alone Malfoy's. "Twice," Malfoy added.

"It was the least I could do. Besides you helped us all," 'all' being Ron and Hermione as well, "back in Malfoy Manor, and your mother saved my life in the Forbidden Forest as well. I guess we're even."

"Yeah. I guess so." There was a pause as two pairs of eyes – one grey and one green – returned to watch the stars glittering in the night sky.

Finally, Harry asked a question which had been on his mind for quite a while, "Why  _did_  you help us back at the Manor?"

Malfoy didn't answer Harry's question for a long time, thinking it over carefully in his head, and Harry just waited patiently, somehow knowing that Malfoy would answer him eventually.

When he did answer, he hesitated slightly, "Whatever you may think about me… I'm not the person you think I am. I never wanted the Dark Mark. I never wanted to join Voldemort. My father made me. I knew that if I didn't do as he said... he'd kill me, for being too weak. And Malfoys are never weak, at least they don't show it. Even if he didn't kill me, then You-Know-Who certainly would. I don't like my father. I hate him," Malfoy quickly amended, "I hate him for what he made me do. I hate him for what he turned me into. I know you might not believe it, but I wasn't always like this – a cold-hearted bastard – there was a time, before Hogwarts, when I was just like any other kid. But, no, my  _father_ ," Malfoy spat the word out with so much venom that Harry actually recoiled slightly, "ripped my childhood away from me. I wasn't allowed to play like the other children. I wasn't allowed to make friends with the Muggle children who lived near us. I wasn't allowed to cry when I hurt myself. I wasn't allowed to seek comfort from my Mum when I was sad or sick. It showed weakness. And Malfoy's don't have any weaknesses. It didn't get much better when I came to Hogwarts. My father put so much pressure on me to do well. I passed all my classes with flying colours, but it wasn't good enough for him, because I wasn't top of the class. _A muggle-born was_. Even in Quidditch, he was so disappointed in me, though I won all our matches. All the ones that weren't against Gryffindor anyway. He hated the thought that there was someone better than me, especially because it was you. When I was a kid, all I wanted was my father's approval. All I wanted was for him to be proud of me." Draco paused, but Harry didn't speak, he was too shocked to speak, he hadn't expected Malfoy to blurt out all his innermost secrets – secrets which he was sure he hadn't even told Parkinson and Zabini – his best friends.

Harry just waited patiently, waiting to see if Malfoy would continue. He did.

"When I was about five, I found this bird with a broken wing. I fixed it and then went to show my parents what I'd done. My mother just smiled at me but my father – my father told me that Malfoy's don't help the weak and then he killed the bird right in front of my eyes." Draco smiled bitterly. "Right now, I couldn't care less whether my father was proud of me or not. Anyway, I guess I helped you and your friends because I knew you'd be able to end it all. End the Dark Lord. I was never on his side, just as Severus never was. Everything I did, was either on my father or the Dark Lord's orders, and I was too scared to refuse either of them. Contrary to popular belief, I never wanted to be a Death Eater, I never worshipped the Dark Lord, I didn't want to be any part of his plans. I regret everything I did under their orders and I didn't enjoy a minute of it. I spent most of the past two years being terrified. And not just for my life, but for my mother's as well. I'd never be able to forgive myself if anything happened to her."

Harry sat silent for a while, mulling over Draco's words. Finally, he said, "You could've told us. The Order I mean. We could've helped you, you could've gone into hiding. You and your mother."

"They would've found us sooner or later." Draco shook his head, glancing down. "It doesn't matter now anyway, whatever happened, happened, and no one can change that. I'm just glad the Dark Lord's gone forever. To be honest, I didn't think I'd make it through the final battle. In the Room of Requirement, with the Fiendfyre, I was so scared. I was so sure that you'd leave me, I mean why would you save me? I tormented you and your friends for nearly seven years."

"I couldn't have just left you there to die, I wouldn't have been able to live with the guilt, even if we did hate each other. I may have killed Voldemort, but I never wanted to be the one to do it. I'm not that kind of person; I can't just leave someone to die. No matter who they are. Stupid hero-complex I suppose." Harry snorted. "What I did... I know it will haunt me forever. I'm not, nor will I ever be a murderer. Sometimes, I used to wonder if I would be able to do it. Actually kill him. I mean sure, I destroyed his horcruxes easily enough, but that was different, they weren't holding a wand in my face and trying to kill me... well, actually I take that back, they did try and kill me... But I could just kid myself into thinking that they were just objects, because at the end of the day, that's what they were – objects, and it was easy to think of them that way and that they weren't a part of someone's soul. When I walked into the Forbidden Forest, I was terrified. And it wasn't that I was gonna die, I'd come to terms with that. I was scared that it would go wrong. That Dumbledore was wrong. And that I wasn't actually a Horcrux. I was scared that if I died, and I wasn't a Horcrux, Voldemort would take over and there'd be no one to stop him. Because, in the end, it was always either me or him." Harry shook his head. "'Neither can live while the other survives.' Stupid prophecy."

Neither of them said anything for quite a while and Harry half-expected Draco to leave, but he didn't, and Harry was glad of that. For some reason he didn't mind his company; maybe it was because he finally had someone to talk to who understood at least a little.

"Who's the letter from?" Draco eventually asked, his curiosity finally overwhelming him.

"Dumbledore." Harry merely replied.

"Oh. Couldn't he just tell you? His portrait I mean?"

"Apparently not."

Draco wondered what the letter was about, but he didn't ask, he didn't want to ruin the unspoken truce between him and his former rival. He didn't have to ask though, because Harry soon answered, as if reading Draco's mind.

"They're alive."

"What? Who?" Draco asked, confused.

Harry didn't reply, handing the letter to Draco instead. Draco took it and quickly read through it, handing it back to Harry once he had done so.

"That's... well, that's great, you finally get what you always wanted." Draco didn't know what else to say, for once he was at a loss for words.

"Yeah, I guess."

"You don't sound very thrilled."

"I am, it's just-" Harry sighed and ran a hand through his already messy black hair. "For so long I've gotten used to the fact that I'll never know them. And now... and now Dumbledore tells me that I've been lied to for the whole of my life." Harry suddenly stood up, starting to pace and an angry look crossing his face. Draco began to get worried, he had seen Harry angry before (as he was usually the cause of his anger and thus on the receiving end of it) and knew how dangerous he could get if his magic spiralled out of control. "I can't believe he kept this a secret from me all this time." Harry took a few deep breaths, trying to get his anger under control.

"You know why he did it though?" Draco asked, not really expecting an answer. "If Dumbledore told you and Voldemort had found out from your connection then he could have got to you through them. And believe me, Voldemort would have found them, no matter how well hidden they were." Draco wondered why he was defending the late Headmaster, the Headmaster he was supposed to kill but couldn't, but he decided not to dwell on it.

"Since when did you get so smart?" Harry asked, a teasing note in his voice that lightened the mood a bit.

"Hey!" Draco exclaimed, mock offended. "I'll have you know I was always smart, you were just too busy insulting me to notice."

Harry snorted in amusement. "You probably insulted me first." He sighed, "I understand why Dumbledore did it, I just wish that he hadn't. I have to go find them." Harry sat down again. He seemed to be trying to find some of his Gryffindor courage to say what he wanted to, and when he found it he said, "Come with me."

"Okay, either someone's put a Confundus Charm on you, or you've finally gone off your rocker."

"Sod off. I'm being serious."

"Why?" Draco asked, surprised and confused.

"Because I need the support - support from someone who understands. All my life, all I've ever wanted is a family and now I've been told that I have a chance at having one. It almost doesn't seem real, and for all I know this could end up being some horrible trick. This isn't going to be easy for me - I had gotten used to the fact that it would never happen, and I don't know how they're going to react when they see me. What if they don't want anything to do with me? It wouldn't be the first time - my relatives hated me, they treated me like their own personal House Elf and they called me a freak more times than my actual name. In fact, I ended up believing it. I mean I always knew I was different and when I came to Hogwarts I slowly started to realise that they were wrong. But I still have moments of doubt. What if they think the same as my aunt and uncle?"

Draco was shocked at Harry's revelation, he had always thought that Harry had been treated like royalty at home, but clearly he was wrong. "Harry, I want you to listen to me very carefully, you are not, nor have you ever been or ever will be, a freak. And there is no reason that your parents will think that of you. If anything, they'll be immensely proud of you – you have accomplished far more than what a normal wizard would or could in a lifetime. And if there's one thing I'm sure of – it's that they love you."

"Thanks. You have no idea how much that means to me." Harry paused for a second before asking, "So, will you come with me?"

"Yes. But there's one thing that I don't understand."

"What's that?"

"Why ask me? Why not Weasley and Granger?" Harry noticed that Draco had been very careful not to say 'the Weasel and the Mudblood', and Harry appreciated that greatly.

"For lots of reasons. They're together now and I know that they'll want some time alone. They'll be all over each other and I'll feel like a third wheel. Besides, I think they've had enough adventure to last a lifetime. It's time for them to live their own lives now. And I know they won't understand like you will. They've grown up in loving, caring families. Even though you had your parents, you didn't have the best childhood either."

"And what about the Weasley girl?" Harry could have sworn he heard a hint of jealousy in Draco's voice, but that wasn't right – why would Draco be jealous of Ginny? And since when had he referred to Malfoy as Draco? "Because she'll want to get back together with me and I can't deal with that right now."

"You don't want to get back together with her? You two seemed pretty happy last year."

Harry shook his head. "No. I love her like a sister. But that's it. And while I know she'll understand, I know she still has feelings for me, and if I take her with me – it'll just be too awkward. She needs to be with her family right now anyway." Harry suddenly snorted, startling Draco. "You realise this is the first actual conversation we've ever had? Not counting that one back in Madam Malkin's of course."

"I suppose it is. It also happens to be the deepest conversation I've ever had."

"Me too," Harry admitted. He hadn't even told Ron and Hermione half the stuff he'd told Draco. Harry caught Draco's gaze, and he could have sworn he saw a flicker of hope in the grey eyes, although hope for what he did not know. Hope that they could be friends, perhaps? Or hope for something else? Harry wasn't sure, but he realised that he wanted to find out. The two were so lost in their thoughts that they didn't realise they were still staring into each other's eyes. Green staring into grey.


	3. Surprises and Shocks

After his and Draco's chat (he had accepted the fact he now referred to his former rival by his first name and not his last rather quickly), Harry had gone back to bed, figuring he should probably get some more sleep, and needing to dwell on his and Draco's unspoken truce and possible friendship. Thankfully he hadn't run into anyone on the way back to the Gryffindor Common Room. Although, he reasoned, everyone was probably still asleep. As soon as Harry's head hit the pillow of his four poster bed he fell straight into a deep and peaceful sleep.

When Harry woke up the sun was just rising. Figuring he would not be able to get back to sleep, he got up, stretched and got dressed, being extra careful to not wake his dorm mates up. Although, he soon realised that the likelihood of that happening was not very high; Ron was sleeping in another dormitory with his family, Neville was such a heavy sleeper that he could have probably slept through the entire Battle of Hogwarts and Dean and Seamus were probably too wrapped up in each other to care much about what anyone else was doing anyway. Not that Harry could blame them. Anyone with eyes could see how in love they were, and Harry couldn't imagine how difficult it must have been for them to have been separated for so long, not knowing whether the other was alright, whether they were still alive and, in Seamus's case, not knowing where Dean even was. At least Dean had been relatively safe in the knowledge that Seamus had been at Hogwarts and surrounded by friends who would protect him no matter what.

Once dressed, he quietly made his way down the dormitory stairs and through the Common Room, not wanting to wake the few people that were sleeping there. He wandered round the school with no real destination in mind, feeling a sense of sadness at the piles of debris and rubble he passed. He soon found himself outside and making his way towards the currently calm Whomping Willow. He cast a non-verbal  _Immobulus_  on the tree and made his way down the narrow passageway that led into the Shrieking Shack. He decided he should probably bring Snape's body back to the castle, something which he figured Draco would appreciate - Snape was his godfather after all.

Harry, however, was confused when he found that Snape's body was not where he left it. "What the…" He started to wonder if maybe someone had beaten him to it when an all too familiar snarky voice coming from behind him startled him out of his thoughts.

"Looking for me, Potter?"

Harry span around in shock, his hand clutching his chest where his heart had suddenly started beating a mile a minute. "Merlin! Don't do that! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" His green eyes were wide with confusion and disbelief, wondering if what he saw before him was a hallucination of a sleep deprived brain or actually real.

"I suppose I wouldn't want to be held responsible for killing the saviour of the wizarding world just hours after he defeated the darkest wizard of all time." Despite Snape's snarky tone, Harry thought he could detect a note of pride in his voice.

"Why aren't you dead? I saw you die." Harry winced internally at how blunt and harsh his words sounded.

"Because believe it or not, Potter, I don't have a death wish. You saw me unconscious, it obviously didn't occur to you to check for a pulse." Snape said, brushing some dust off his robes.

"But how?" Harry asked, still refusing to believe his eyes.

"I made an antidote to Nagini's venom." Snape replied in a tone that suggested he didn't want to talk about it, and thankfully for Harry he noticed it and shut up.

"Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to see my family."

"Family?" Harry echoed, too curious for his own good.

"Yes. Contrary to popular belief I have children." With that said, Snape left the Shack, his robes billowing behind him and leaving Harry stood there, eyes wide and mouth agape.

* * *

Once Harry had recovered from the initial shock of hearing that Snape had children, and not just one, children implied at least two, he slowly made his way back to the school. Instead of heading back to the Gryffindor Common Room, he went to the Great Hall, not wanting to face the Weasleys and Hermione. He was totally unprepared for the sight that met his eyes, though, once he reached the Great Hall. Rows and rows of dead bodies lay on the floor, some he recognised, some he didn't, some he loved, some he only knew in passing. He just stared at them all. So much death. And it was all because of him. He just about registered Neville coming to stand beside him. "They all died because of me, Neville. Cedric, Sirius, Dumbledore, Moody, Ted, Dobby, Tonks, Colin. Lavender's fighting for her life in St. Mungo's, and even if she lives she'll never be the same again. And it's all my fault."

What he didn't expect following those words was for Neville to whack Harry round the back of the head in a rather un-Neville like move. "Ow! What was that for?"

"You're an idiot, Harry. They didn't die because of you. They died because of some crazed psychopath and his screwed up beliefs." When Harry still didn't look convinced, Neville started to get frustrated with him. "You think they only fought for you? You think you're the only person that gave them something to fight for? Okay, so maybe they believed in you. But they were fighting for their lives, their families, for a better world. It's not your fault and you shouldn't blame yourself. You can't live in the past, Harry. Voldemort's gone, and whatever happened, happened. We can't change that. I'm not saying you should forget about all the lives that were lost, but you can't dwell on it, because it'll ruin your life if you do, and I think you've had enough of that, don't you?"

Harry knew that Neville was right, it was just difficult sometimes not to blame himself. "Thanks, Nev," Harry said, after mulling over his words for a few moments, "I think I really needed to hear that."

Neville gave him a small smile in return. "Don't mention it, Harry. I'm gonna go get some sleep, I think you should go talk to Remus. He's pretty devastated over Tonks' death." Neville gestured towards where Remus was sat next to Tonks' body.

Harry nodded, once again feeling guilt creep through him, despite Neville's words. Even though he knew it was all Voldemort's fault, he still couldn't help but feel a little responsible. He nervously made his way over to Remus and sat down next to him. "Remus? Are you okay?" Harry mentally winced, that was a stupid question to ask. Of course he wasn't okay, he had just lost his wife and the mother of his son.

"It's all my fault that she's dead. I should have made sure she left the castle." There were silent tears running down Remus' face and Harry put a comforting arm around his shoulder.

"Do you really think Tonks would have just stood back and let everyone else do the fighting? She was an Auror, it was in her nature to fight."

"But now Teddy doesn't have a mother." Remus finally tore his eyes away from his dead wife's body to look at Harry.

"And that's why you need to pull yourself together, so you can look after him. Teddy may have lost his mother, but he still has you, and me, and Andromeda, and loads of other people who love him."

"I guess," Remus sighed. As his eyes returned to Tonks' body, he said, "I don't fall in love easily, but when I do they always seem to die on me. First Sirius, and now Tonks."

Harry only just managed to not let the surprise he felt cross his face. He hadn't known that Remus had felt that way about his godfather, and he wondered if the feelings had been mutual, but Harry chose to keep his wonderings to himself. Remus did not need Harry questioning him about the nature of his relationship with Sirius, and besides that, Harry still found it difficult to talk about his dead godfather. Instead, he decided to inform Remus about his newfound discovery. "I have something which may cheer you up slightly."

"What's that?" Remus perked up, his curiosity piqued slightly.

Harry, without saying a word, handed Remus the letter from Dumbledore which he had kept on him ever since he had received it. He was a little worried about what Remus' reaction would be, especially since there were certain things in the letter which were bound to anger him. A few minutes later, Remus asked, "Is this for real?" Harry just nodded in reply. Remus suddenly stood up, startling Harry slightly; his fists were clenched and his eyes had darkened with anger, threatening to reveal the werewolf within. Harry didn't think he'd ever seen the man he thought of as a second godfather so angry, and he had to admit it kind of scared him a little.

Harry stood up as well, placing a calming hand on Remus' shoulder. "Remus, calm down. I know you must be angry, but I'm sure Dumbledore had his reasons."

Remus let out a bitter chuckle, "Reasons? Yeah, he'll try and justify his actions and decisions, but at the end of the day, sometimes it just isn't good enough." Remus' fists unclenched, and the anger in his eyes was replaced by sadness. "He didn't have to choose them, he could've chosen anyone. He didn't have to choose them."

"I'm sorry." Harry didn't know what else to say. He couldn't imagine what it must be like, to find out that two of your best friends were still alive, but to also find out that the ones who had died in their place were your brother and sister-in-law.

"It's okay, Harry. There's nothing I can do about it now, besides I shouldn't really be surprised. I know what Dumbledore's like," Remus couldn't stop the bitter edge that crept into his tone. His eyes flickered back to Harry, "I'm coming with you."

"No." Harry shook his head firmly, not willing to budge on his answer, "You need to stay here and look after Teddy. And besides, I need someone to cover for me."

"Why?"

"Because I'm not telling everyone where I'm going."

"As long as you're not going alone."

"I'm not."

"Ron and Hermione are going with you?" Remus assumed.

Harry shook his head and replied, "Draco."

"Malfoy?" Remus said in surprise.

Harry nodded again, and was about to offer an explanation when Ron and Hermione entered the Great Hall, clearly looking for Harry. "Anyway, Remus, nice talking, I gotta go." Harry said quickly, rushing off to try and get away from his two best friends. However, his plan was in vain as they intercepted him on his mad dash to get out of the Great Hall.

"You've been avoiding us, Harry." Hermione said matter-of-factly.

"No, I haven't." Harry denied.

"Yeah, you have mate, what's up?" Ron asked, suspicious.

"Nothing. I'm fine." Harry answered a little too quickly.

"Don't lie to us, Harry, not after all we've been through." Hermione tried to guilt him into answering.

"Oh, look, I'm needed over there! See you later guys!" Harry quickly dashed off, having successfully distracted them for a second.

"Harry!" Hermione shouted after him, exasperation evident in her voice.

* * *

Having successfully escaped the questioning of his two best friends, Harry made his way back up to the seventh floor. He was just passing the Room of Requirement when he ran into Luna.  _At least she won't ask any awkward questions_ , Harry thought. "You two look very happy together." Luna said, in her typical dreamy voice.

A rather confused look crossed Harry's face, he had come to expect this sort of thing from Luna, but that didn't mean he still wasn't confused by it. "Er, who?" He asked, wondering if he really wanted to know the answer.

Luna, though, only further confused Harry by saying, "He looks just like you, apart from the eyes of course…"

"Luna, what are you on about?" Harry asked, getting more confused by the second.

"You'll find out one day," she replied, mysteriously. And then, suddenly changing the subject said, "The fire didn't completely destroy it, the castle's magic is too strong." Upon seeing the still confused look on Harry's face, she gestured to the wall next to where they were standing, and Harry realised she meant the Room of Requirement. With a "See you later, Harry," she skipped off towards the Ravenclaw Common Room. Harry just stood there, dumbfounded, and wondered what in the name of Merlin Luna had been on about. Despite that, it was nice to see that some things never changed.

* * *

Elsewhere, Draco was wandering round the Dungeons, also unable to get any sleep. He didn't dare venture out of the dreary Dungeons, as he assumed that people would only glare at him because he was an ex-Death Eater. He knew he would have to face the world sooner or later, but he preferred to avoid them for as long as he could. A feminine voice calling out his name snapped him out of his thoughts and he spun round to where the voice had come from. "Do I know you?" The girl that stood in front of him was probably a couple of years younger, and she was quite short with dark brown hair and dark blue eyes. He vaguely recognised her, but only enough to remember that she was a fellow Slytherin.

"My sister is Daphne Greengrass, she's in your year," the girl replied, and Draco recalled that the girl's name was Astoria.

"Oh, right," Draco said, only half interested, "I'm sorry, but I don't know where Daphne is."

Astoria shifted her weight from one foot to the other, and crossed her arms. She looked slightly nervous, if the fact that she refused to look at Draco was any indication, "I was looking for you actually."

"Oh?" Draco said, somewhat surprised, after all, he'd never even spoken to her before today.

"We need to talk," Astoria continued, "can we sit down somewhere?"

"Sure," Draco just shrugged, wondering what in the name of Merlin she'd want to talk to  _him_  about.

The two wandered down the corridor until they reached the Potions classroom and took a seat at one of the tables. Draco was about to ask what she wanted to talk about, but Astoria had answered his question before he even had time to open his mouth. "Were you aware that my father and your father had organised a marriage between us?"

"What?" Draco was completely caught off guard.

"You didn't know?" Draco shook his head slightly. "It was supposed to happen as soon as I had graduated. Look, Draco, I don't mean to offend you or anything, but I don't want to marry you." She looked away from him, not wanting to see the angry reaction he would surely have.

Draco's reaction, however, was quite the opposite. "It's fine," he said, his voice calm, and Astoria's eyes snapped back up to look at him, "I don't want to be forced into a loveless marriage either." He gave her a small smile, which she returned, before saying, "Now, if you don't mind I need to go have a word with my father." Astoria just nodded, and Draco left the classroom, heading back towards the Slytherin Common Room where his parents currently were.

* * *

Lucius and Narcissa had been sitting by the fire chatting quietly when their seventeen-year-old son burst into the Common Room with a rather loud and rather indignant "Father!"

"Draco," Lucius calmly acknowledged, completely oblivious to his son's outrage.

Draco stalked over to his parents and stood in front of the fire, the flames casting an eerie shadow over him. "When were you going to tell me that you were going to marry me off to Astoria Greengrass?" He asked, his voice much calmer and quieter now, although the look on his face betrayed just how angry he was.

"Miss Greengrass told you then?" Lucius asked conversationally, as if they were talking about the weather, and not Draco's future.

"Clearly," Draco snapped.

"You're not happy with my choice of wife for you? I can assure you that the Greengrass family is extremely wealthy and their line goes back almost as far as the Malfoy line does. Astoria is a nice girl who will produce many heirs for us."

This only seemed to anger Draco further, and he had to take a few calming breaths to stop his voice from rising; he had attracted quite the audience with his abrupt entrance, even now he could feel people's eyes watching them, and he had no wish to attract even more attention by shouting at his father. "You think I care about wealth and blood? This war made me realise that purebloods are more at fault than anyone. And I don't care if she's a nice girl, I hardly know her!"

"There will be time to get to know her once you are married."

Narcissa rolled her eyes at her husband's stupidity, an act which went unnoticed by Lucius and Draco; she had never agreed with Lucius' idea to marry Draco off but he had never listened to her and so she let him be, hoping that it would never become an issue. But clearly Lucius had gone along with his original plans, and behind Narcissa's back as well, for this was the first she had heard about an alliance between the Malfoy and Greengrass families. It wasn't that she didn't think Astoria was a good match, she just wanted to give Draco the chance to follow his own heart, a chance that she herself had never been given.

"Why do you not get the fact that I don't want to marry her?" Draco's voice had started rising again, catching more people's unwanted attention. Narcissa briefly wondered if there was already someone in Draco's life, and if there was, why hadn't he told them?

"I don't see what your problem is. Do you not want to produce any heirs?" Narcissa was really starting to wish her husband would shut up.

She soon got her wish, however, as Draco finally lost his patience, and what he said next caused the whole Common Room to go silent, "I think it'll be pretty difficult to produce any heirs when I don't even like girls!" And with that said, he stormed out of the Common Room, ignoring several people's gasps and Lucius' angry expression, and not noticing his mother's slight knowing smile.

* * *

Some hours later Lucius was still fuming and Draco had not yet returned. Lucius had taken to pacing in front of the fire for the past hour or so and truth be told, it was really starting to get on Narcissa's nerves. "Maybe you should just let him be."

Lucius span round to face his wife, "Why? As a Malfoy he has a duty to perform."

"Draco's stubborn, you know he won't do it if he doesn't want to," she replied simply, not looking up from the book she was reading.

"He'll come around, he'll see that this is just a phase." That made Narcissa put her book down, and an infuriated look crossed her face.

"You mean like it was for you?" Her tone was cold and harsh, but it seemed to have no effect on Lucius, who was used to his wife's occasionally biting words.

"Exactly."

"You're deluded, Lucius. You and I both know that you loved him more than you ever loved me. If you had followed your heart and stayed with him…"

Lucius cut her off, "...Then Draco wouldn't have been born, and neither would Potter and the Dark Lord would still be at large." He slumped onto the sofa next to her, a rather ungraceful move for a Malfoy, and his angry expression had been exchanged for a sad, longing one.

"Not necessarily." Narcissa's voice softened, she knew how hard this topic of conversation was for him.

"Whatever," was the only reply she got, and she rather thought he sounded like a moody teenager.

"You know I'm right," she pressed, trying to get some form of reaction out of him.

"Look, Cissy, it doesn't matter now anyway, he's dead."

"You're not the only one who lost someone that night, Lucius," Narcissa's tone sharpened considerably, "And you would do well to remember that."

Lucius winced at her harsh tone, "Of course, I forgot-"

"That's exactly it," she snapped, "you always forget about other people, you only care about what you want, and never what anyone else wants. You've always been a selfish person, Lucius, and you always will be."

"That's…" he started, feeling affronted, but his words soon turned into a sigh of defeat, "You're right."

"Of course I am." Narcissa's tone softened again. Lucius had always wondered how she could so quickly change her tone of voice from one extreme to the other. "You blame yourself, don't you?"

"Of course, wouldn't you?" Lucius looked at his wife, a truly saddened and desperate look in his eyes.

She gave him a small, sad smile, "I do." She sighed. "Draco doesn't want to marry Astoria any more than you wanted to marry me. Do you really want your only child stuck in a loveless marriage like we were?"

Lucius thought about it for a moment before answering, "No."

"Then you need to call this marriage off, Lucius. Let your son be happy, for once in his life. Besides there are still ways of producing heirs."

Lucius nodded, standing up, "I'll go inform the Greengrasses right now."

"I knew you'd see it my way. Eventually." Narcissa smirked.


	4. Aurors and Archibald

Harry was on his way towards the Headmaster's Office when he spotted Draco wandering the fourth floor corridor looking rather alarmed. Making a quick decision, he went over to him; now, once upon a time, he probably would've just hexed him and be done with it, but things were different now, they were friends… well, sort of… and Harry no longer had any desire to hex him, only to find out what was wrong. "What's up with you? You look like you've seen a ghost." Draco gave him a funny look, his expression clearly stating how stupid that comment was. They were, after all, in the Wizarding World, a world where it was completely normal for ghosts to roam about. Harry rolled his eyes, "It's a Muggle expression. So, come on, why the horrified look?"

When Draco finally spoke, instead of being the perfectly well-spoken Malfoy he was, his sentences came out jumbled and broken, "Well… I said… but I can't tell you… then again, I did say it in front of the whole common room… oh, I might as well… you'll probably hear it from someone else soon enough anyway…"

Having had enough of Draco's internal struggle, Harry took matters into his own hands, "Draco, you're not making any sense. Spit it out. Coherently."

Draco sighed, "I may have… come out to the Slytherin Common Room…" The last part was said quieter, but Harry still heard it.

"And?" Harry prompted, getting the impression that there was more to it than just that.

"Well, more specifically, I came out to my parents, but the whole common room heard," he said, back to normal volume now he was convinced that Harry didn't seem disgusted by his admission.

"How'd they take it?" Harry asked, somehow already knowing the answer before he'd even asked the question.

"I didn't really hang around to see their reactions, to be honest," Draco said, sighing deeply as he ran a hand through his platinum blond hair, effectively messing it up, before straightening it back down to its usual non-messy style, something which rather amused Harry. "As soon as I realised what I'd said I bolted. Knowing them though, they probably didn't take it well, well my father at least. My mother was always a more tolerant person, but she'll probably still be disappointed."

"You didn't mean to come out then?"

Draco shook his head, "No, my father was insisting on me marrying Astoria Greengrass, and I just sort of blurted it out."

"You blurted it out?" Harry repeated, once again amused. "How very un-Malfoylike of you."

"Oh, shut up," Draco said, feigning annoyance, though the smile on his face betrayed the fact that he was joking.

They were making their way down the stairs that led from the fourth floor to the third when Draco spoke again, worry evident on his face, "So you don't mind then?"

"Hmm?" Harry asked, clearly lost as to what Draco was on about.

"About me being… gay. You don't mind?" Homosexuality was generally accepted throughout the Wizarding community, though homophobia was still present - generally coming from those raised in Muggle families, but some pureblood families were known for being rather intolerant too.

Harry shook his head, "Of course I don't. Seamus and Dean have been together for about a year and a half now, and no one's ever had any problem with them. In fact, I don't think even the Slytherins have ever commented on it. Besides, Ron told me that that sort of thing doesn't really matter in the Wizarding World."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." Looking back, Draco realised it had been rather stupid to assume that Harry would be anything other than okay with it. He glanced round, and, realising that they were now on the second floor, asked, "Where are we going anyway?"

"Headmaster's Office," Harry replied simply.

"What for?"

"Dumbledore never mentioned in the letter where they are. You coming with me?"

Draco shrugged his shoulders and said, "I suppose," despite the uneasy feeling he got at the mention of the Headmaster he had been supposed to kill.

* * *

"Minister Shacklebolt doesn't know what he's talking about."

"Oh no, of course he doesn't, he is only the Minister for Magic and a former Auror after all, why would  _he_  know what he's on about?"

"Watch who you're talking to, Seymour. I outrank you now, remember?"

Seymour snorted. "And don't I know it," she muttered, before continuing louder, "all I'm saying is he must have had some reasoning behind it. I doubt he'd tell you to leave the Malfoys and Headmaster Snape alone for no reason."

"I'll tell you what his reasoning is, he was a Slytherin at Hogwarts, just like they were. And now he feels it's his duty to protect them."

"You can't really believe that?"

"Well, why else would he do it? He knows they're guilty."

"Look, it doesn't matter what we think. We can't go against his orders."

"Can't we?"

"Damn it, Donovan. Don't go doing anything stupid. You'll get yourself fired."

Donovan Alesworth was a tall, dark-haired man in his mid-40s, and had earlier that day been promoted to Head Auror by the new Minister for Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt. It was no secret that Alesworth had been after the Head Auror job for years, and even Kingsley himself knew this, but Alesworth was one of the best Aurors, if one overlooked his arrogance, prejudices, and the fact that he thought himself above following orders. "That's Head Auror Alesworth to you, Seymour. And I'd bet you'd love that, wouldn't you? Me getting fired. I know you were hoping Minister Shacklebolt would make you Head Auror. But who are you, really? You're nothing but an inexperienced Junior Auror who thinks herself more important that she actually is. Sure, you have ambitions and dreams, but they'll never amount to anything, not while I'm around."

Yvette Seymour, on the other hand, was a fair-haired, 25-year-old woman of average height, and wasn't anything how Alesworth had described her. She had had plenty of experience as an Auror, particularly because of the war and, despite the fact that she did want to become Head Auror someday, she was under no delusion that Minister Shacklebolt would have made her Head Auror at the young age that she was. "You know what,  _Head Auror_  Alesworth? Do whatever you want, but leave me out of it. I for one would rather follow Minister Shacklebolt's orders."

"So be it."

* * *

"Remind me why I'm here again?" Draco sighed as he and Harry stood outside the door to the Headmaster's Office.

Harry sighed as well, "Come on, Draco, you can't avoid him forever."

Draco pouted, an expression which Harry thought looked rather cute on Draco.  _Where on earth did that come from?_  He mentally shook himself,  _focus, Harry_.

"Yes, I can," Draco replied, obstinate.

Harry just gave him an amused look, "Come on, and stop complaining."

The pout disappeared from Draco's face and was replaced with a scowl as he said, "Fine."

Harry pushed open the large wooden door and led the way into the large circular room. They stopped in front of Dumbledore's smiling portrait, although Draco was stood further back than necessary, as if hoping he wouldn't be noticed. "Hello, Professor," Harry greeted.

"Harry, my boy!" Dumbledore said, sounding genuinely delighted that Harry had come to visit him, although, in all fairness, since the war had ended people were probably too busy to bother visiting a portrait, whether he was one of the greatest wizards of all time or not. "I was wondering when you'd be back to see me, and young Mr Malfoy as well, how delightful!"

Draco just looked awkward, but managed to incline his head in a respectful manner and force out a polite "Professor" by way of greeting.

Dumbledore seemed to notice Draco's awkwardness, "Draco, it's all in the past. Forgive and forget, I say."

"You may have forgotten, but I certainly haven't," Draco muttered, although Dumbledore heard it anyway.

"It was not your fault, Draco, you only did what you had to do to protect yourself and your family. Besides, you were not responsible for my death, do not feel guilty for something you did not do."

Draco just nodded, although he didn't really believe Dumbledore's words; he would always blame himself for what had happened, he was the one that had let the Death Eaters into the castle, and so therefore he felt he was responsible for Dumbledore's death.

"It does not do to dwell on our previous actions and live in regret, Draco. The war is over now, and we all have a chance for a fresh start. If you don't remember anything else I have told you, then at least remember that."

Draco nodded again, "Yes, Professor." He knew it would be a long time before he could truly forgive himself for what had happened, though.

Dumbledore turned back to Harry, "Now, Harry, I believe I know why you're here? You're here because I wasn't specific about the details of the location in my letter."

"Yes, Professor," Harry nodded.

"You understand why, of course."

Harry nodded again, "Because if the letter fell into the wrong hands, then their location would be compromised and they would be in danger."

"Exactly," Dumbledore nodded, "31 Wiggentree Avenue. It is in the magical part of Salem in Massachusetts. The American Ministry will instruct you on how to get there."

"Thank you, Professor."

"I must ask, Harry, but you don't plan on going alone, do you?"

Harry shook his head, "Draco is coming with me."

Dumbledore smiled, "You're more like your father than you know, Harry." The infamous twinkle was present in his blue eyes as his gaze shifted from Harry to Draco.

Harry and Draco bid their goodbyes and left the circular room, both feeling as equally confused at Dumbledore's last statement. It wasn't until they had reached the bottom of the stairs that Draco asked, "What did he mean? And why was he looking at me strangely? Like he knew something I didn't?"

Harry shrugged, "That's Dumbledore for you, he often knows more than he should. I have no idea what he meant, though. I wish people would stop comparing me to my parents. I mean, okay, of course there are bound to be similarities between us, after all, they  _are_  my parents, but I'm my own person too, you know?"

Draco nodded, agreeing with Harry's words, "I know what you mean, people often compare me to my father. I hate it."

If only they knew how similar to their fathers they really were.

* * *

About an hour later Harry was sat on the main staircase steps in the Entrance Hall with Remus, having finally managed to drag him away from Tonks's body. Draco had gone looking for his parents, who were in the Great Hall, having decided that he should probably face them sooner rather than later.

The comfortable silence that Harry and Remus were sat in was soon broke by someone rather dramatically pushing open the Entrance Hall doors, someone who Harry thought looked a rather lot like Sirius. In fact, they were so similar in appearance that Harry thought it  _was_  Sirius. Harry stood up, "Sirius?"

Remus stood up as well, realising at once who it actually was, "Harry, that's not Sirius." He walked down the few steps and over to the Sirius lookalike. He was about twenty years older than he was when Remus last saw him, but there was no mistaking who it was. "Regulus? You're supposed to be dead." Confusion was evident in Remus's voice and expression.

"Good to see you too, Remus," Regulus smiled.

"Regulus?" Harry echoed Remus, now standing beside him.

Regulus' attention turned to Harry, "Blimey, he sure does look like James."

Harry scowled, "Can people please stop comparing me to my parents? It's getting rather annoying actually."

"Right, sorry," Regulus apologised, although he didn't sound sorry at all.

"How?" Remus asked, unable to form a longer sentence.

"Faked my own death, didn't I?" Regulus replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Now, if you don't mind, there are some people I'd like to see."

"Okay…" Remus replied, sounding as confused as Harry felt.

But then, as if on cue, Severus entered the Entrance Hall from the Dungeons. "Regulus! What are you doing here?"

Regulus didn't reply, and instead just swept Severus up into a tight hug, leaving Harry shocked, mainly because he never thought Snape would willingly hug someone. Remus, however, wasn't in the slightest bit surprised by this action, and seemed to know something Harry didn't.

"I came to see you, of course," Regulus said, "now that the war is over, it's safe for me to be out and about."

"Idiot," Snape said, although Harry could hear the affectionate tone in his voice, "there are still Death Eaters out there."

"You're forgetting who you're talking to."

"You betrayed them."

"So did you."

Snape rolled his eyes, a childish action which Harry never thought Snape would lower himself to. "Shut up."

If Harry thought that he couldn't be more shocked and confused, then he was wrong, for what happened next shocked Harry more than ever. Regulus kissed Severus. And it wasn't just a peck on the cheek or a friendly kiss or anything, it was a full-on passionate kiss on the lips. One that lovers would share.

Harry came out of his shocked stupor, "But you have children." He stated, only after realising that what he had said was probably the stupidest thing ever.

Severus and Regulus broke apart. "Insolent brat," Snape said, and Harry was thankful for the familiarity of Snape's snarky tone, "just because one has children does not mean that they are heterosexual, equally just because one's current partner is not of the fairer sex does not mean that they are homosexual. I myself am not particularly picky when it comes to my partner's gender."

"Oh," Harry said, suddenly feeling rather stupid, as he often did in Snape's presence.

"Yes, now if you don't mind I'd rather spend time with my family than have to listen to any more of your ignorant comments." As soon as the words had left Snape's mouth, Regulus kissed him again, not giving him time to protest "Not in public."

It was at this point that Ron and Hermione entered the Entrance Hall, looking for Harry. This time, though, Harry didn't have the chance to escape, as Hermione spotted him straight away, "Harry! There you are!"

Harry sighed, not for the first time that day, "Yes, here I am."

Ron's attention, however, seemed to be fixed on Snape and not Harry, "That is a sight I never wanted to see, Snape… canoodling."

"'Canoodling'?" Harry questioned, an amused look on his face, "Mate, you've been spending way too much time with Hermione."

"Hey! I've never used that word in my life!" Hermione exclaimed, indignant.

"She's right," Ron agreed, "Hermione's more likely to say 'copulate' or 'fornicate'."

"Ron! You're supposed to be defending me!"

"Oh, right, yeah… Shut up, Harry."

Harry just looked amused, and Remus had been watching the entire exchange with a smile on his face and a wistful look in his eye, their banter reminding him of him and his friends when they were younger.

Suddenly, a gasp came from Hermione, "Is that Sirius?"

"No, that's Regulus," replied Harry.

"Regulus?" Ron questioned, confused.

"Yes. Apparently he faked his own death."

Hermione opened her mouth to ask how when about a dozen Ministry officials barged into the Entrance Hall, effectively shutting her up. Severus and Regulus finally broke apart, and several people, the Malfoys included, came out of the Great Hall to see what all the commotion was about as the Ministry had caused quite a racket upon their entrance.

Harry, having a feeling as to what this was about, strolled over to a tall, dark-haired man who appeared to be in charge. "And who are you?"

Alesworth didn't answer, he just ignored Harry and made to walk straight past him. Harry, however, wasn't going to let that happen and blocked his path immediately.

"Can we help you?" Harry said, clearly irritated that he had been ignored.

"We are here to arrest Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Malfoy and Draco Malfoy." Alesworth replied, finally accepting the fact that Harry wasn't going to let him get past without an explanation.

"The charges?" Harry pressed, his arms crossed over his chest in a defensive position, not preparing to let the Aurors get past without a fight.

Alesworth was getting more and more irritated by the second, "For being Death Eaters," he said simply, a look of disdain on his face.

"Narcissa Malfoy was never a Death Eater, she doesn't have the Dark Mark," Harry pointed out.

"No, but she still associated herself with Voldemort and his followers. In my eyes she is just as bad as they are."

"And once you've arrested them, where are you taking them exactly?"

"They will be taken to Azkaban, where they will remain until their official trials next week."

"And what gives you the authority to do this?"

"Listen,  _kid_ ," Alesworth snapped, finally losing his patience with Harry, "I've just been made the new Head of the Auror Office, and I will not have my time wasted by an incompetent brat such as yourself."

Harry snorted, "Incompetent? Do you know who you're speaking to?"

"The Boy Who Lived, the Chosen One, the Boy Who Defeated Voldemort, whatever in the name of Merlin they call you these days. Point is, kid, now that the war's over, those titles don't count for squat. Now if you'd kindly get out of my way so I can do my job. I don't have time to deal with arrogant toerags like you." Alesworth pushed past Harry, who was currently glaring at Alesworth like he was Voldemort reincarnated, and signalled for half his Aurors to arrest the Malfoys, while he took the other half over to arrest Snape. Why he needed three other Aurors to arrest just one man Harry would never know, unless it was an indication of his incompetency. "Well, well, well," Alesworth said, upon spotting Regulus stood next to Snape, "if it isn't Regulus Black, last I heard you were dead." Regulus scowled, but didn't say anything. "Well, I had no orders to arrest you, but seeing as you're here and you're a Death Eater, I don't see why I shouldn't." He nodded to the Aurors to arrest them, who did so promptly.

Harry and the others could only look on, helpless, as he watched the Malfoys, Regulus and Snape being lead out of the Entrance Hall. Draco shot Harry a pleading look, and Snape just managed to say, "Remus, my kids," before he was escorted out of the castle.

After the Aurors had left, the Entrance Hall was deathly silent. Harry, furious, turned on his heel and stormed off towards the Dungeons, Remus, Ron and Hermione following quickly behind him.

Remus, almost nervously, as if he was expecting Harry to turn his anger onto him, asked, "Harry? Are you alright?"

"This isn't right. None of them deserve to go to Azkaban. At the end of the day, they helped us, they were on our side."

"Don't worry, Harry," Hermione reassured, "now that Kingsley's been named Minister for Magic the Ministry isn't nearly as corrupt as it was before. They'll get a fair trial, and if you testify then they're bound to go free."

"Hermione's right, Harry," Remus said, "it'll all turn out okay."

"Mate, where are we going?" Ron suddenly asked.

"Snape's quarters."

"Why?"

"Because I assume that's where his kids are," Harry glanced at Remus, who nodded in confirmation, "I know what it's like to grow up without parents, and I'm not going to let that happen to them."

The four of them finally reached the portrait which guarded Snape's chambers. According to Remus, the portrait was of Archibald de Lovage, who was a well-celebrated Potions Master in the 15th century.

"Password?" Archibald asked in a deep voice.

Harry looked at Remus expectantly.

"What are you looking at me for?"

"Well, we," he gestured to himself, Ron and Hermione, "haven't been in the castle for nearly a year, you're more likely to know it than us."

"Harry, the last time I was in the castle was when I was teaching, and I'm fairly certain Severus would have changed his password since then."

"Well, you could at least give it a try."

Remus sighed, turned to Archibald and said, "Bezoar." At Archibald's refusal to let them in, Remus turned back to Harry with a look that said "See? I told you so."

Harry gave Remus a half-serious glare before saying to Archibald, "Er, we don't know the password, but could you let us through please?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that." Despite the apology, Archibald sounded anything but apologetic.

Harry had never usually been one for using his name to get his way, but he figured that just this once wouldn't hurt, "Look, I'm Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, the Chosen One, the defeater of one of the darkest wizards of all time, so could you please just let us in?"

"Look," Archibald started, clearly irritated, "I don't care if you're the Minister for Magic and you've found a cure for lycanthropy, I'm not letting you in without the password."

Harry was getting rather impatient at this point, "Severus Snape has just been arrested by the Aurors and his children are now alone in the room beyond your portrait."

"And? They're safe in there. Besides, his children are smart, they can take care of themselves." Archibald said, stroking his greying goatee thoughtfully.

"But they shouldn't have to."

"I still need the password."

Harry groaned, "Fine...asphodel?" He tried.

The portrait shook his head.

"Wormwood?" Ron offered.

"Aconite?" Hermione suggested.

"Monkshood?"

"Veritaserum?" Remus had decided to help now.

"Polyjuice Potion?"

Archibald, who was looking rather bored at this point, said, "It's got nothing to do with Potions."

"Death Eater?"

"Regulus?"

"Half-Blood Prince?"

Several minutes later, during which they had named practically everyone and everything they thought Snape would use as his password, they had all become rather annoyed with Archibald. Trust Snape to choose an irritating portrait to guard his rooms.

"Ugh! This is hopeless…" Harry said, about ready to give up.

"Come on, Harry, think. If you were Snape, what would you set as your password?" Hermione said.

"I don't know, Remus probably knows him better than me."

Remus shrugged his shoulders and thought for a few moments. "Oh, wait! How about Dumbledore?"

"Finally!" Archibald sounded relieved that he wouldn't have to put up with them any longer and his portrait swung open to reveal Snape's chambers. The four of them clambered through the portrait hole.

"That has to be the most stubborn and irritating portrait I've ever met!" Ron complained.

"I heard that!" Archibald called from behind them, "just see if I let you back in again!"

"Oh, Ronald, he's just doing his job," Hermione chastised.

"Back to Ronald, are we?" Ron scowled.

Harry rolled his eyes, "Oh, shut up, you two."

The quartet walked into the living area to find two children sat on the sofa playing Wizard's Chess. As Harry and Remus approached them, they both looked up at the same time.

"Who are you?" The girl, Isabella, asked Harry.

Before Harry could reply, however, the boy, Alexander, cut in, "Don't be silly, Izzy, that's Harry Potter."

Harry smiled slightly and walked the rest of the way over to them. Isabella, Remus had told him, was five, while Alexander was seven. He knelt down in front of them so that they were eye level, and Remus stood just behind Harry. Ron and Hermione remained in the background.

"Hello. Yes, I'm Harry Potter. Your father's had to go away for a little while, so we'll," he gestured to Remus as well, "be looking after you."

"When will Papa be back?" Izzy asked, her arms tightening around the cuddly owl in her arms.

"I'm not sure," Harry replied, deciding it would be better to not lie to them, "soon."

"What about Daddy?" Alex piped up, "why can't he look after us?"

Harry looked at Remus, confused. "He must mean Regulus," Remus helpfully supplied.

Harry looked back to the kids, "Your Daddy's had to go with your Father. But don't worry, you'll be safe with me and Remus."

As if suddenly realising that Remus was there, Izzy sprang up off the sofa and attached herself to Remus's leg, "Uncle Remy!"

Harry stood up, raising a questioning eyebrow at Remus.

"What?" Remus said, picking Izzy up, "This isn't the first time that Severus has asked me to look after them. Apparently, I was the only Order member he could tolerate and trust to look after his kids."

"Really? I thought he hated you?"

"Hate is a strong word, Harry. Dislike yes, but hate no. He may have hated me once upon a time, back at school, but the war really put things into perspective for both of us."

"Hmm," Harry said thoughtfully, thinking back on his truce and somewhat friendship with Draco, "I suppose you're right."


	5. Trials and Talks

An hour later Harry was still figuring out what to do about the Malfoys, Snape and Regulus. He was sat on the sofa with Remus in Snape's quarters; Ron was playing Wizard's Chess with Alex, and for once he had found a challenging opponent, for even though Alex was only seven, Ron was having a tough time beating him, and Izzy was sat near the fire with Hermione, listening to her telling the Muggle fairytales that she grew up with. Izzy seemed quite fascinated with the stories that Hermione was telling her, and Harry just knew that Hermione would make a great mother someday.

"I don't understand," Harry said suddenly, loud enough for only Remus to hear, not that the others were paying much attention anyway.

"What?" Remus asked, confused at Harry's sudden declaration.

"I thought Snape loved my mother," Harry clarified, and Remus suddenly understood.

"Lily was Severus's first love, and he'll always love her, but that doesn't mean he can't love someone else as well," Remus explained.

"I suppose," Harry said, as he sank back into the cushions of the sofa, "I guess it's just so unexpected. What's the story behind him and Regulus anyway?" He asked, curious.

"Well, back in school, when Lily severed all ties with him, Severus turned to his only other true friend for comfort, Regulus. From what Sirius told me, Regulus had always had a crush on Severus and I think, in time, Severus grew to like him back. They started dating and carried on right after they graduated until Regulus's supposed death. From what I understand, I don't think Regulus told Severus what he was going to do as Sirius told me he looked pretty distraught at his funeral," Remus recalled, "a few years later he married Rosalie; she was a year older than us and had been a Slytherin at school. She had Alex when you were just starting your first year at Hogwarts and Izzy was born a couple of years later. But Izzy's pregnancy was a difficult one and Rosalie didn't survive the birth. The Healers did everything they could, but even magic wasn't enough to save her. I'm not sure of the details after that, but I can only assume that sometime after Rosalie's death, maybe even before, Regulus revealed to Severus that he was alive and they started their relationship back up," Remus finished.

"It must be serious then, if the kids see Regulus as their other parent," Harry said thoughtfully, glancing at Alex and Izzy.

Remus nodded in agreement, "I never knew Regulus particularly well, but he once told me that family meant everything to him and Sirius told me he was always great with kids."

Harry just nodded, thoughtful. "I'm going for a short walk." Harry stood up, and started to head towards the door, an action which did not go unnoticed by Ron and Hermione.

"Where are you going?" Hermione asked sharply, effectively stopping Harry in his tracks and alerting everyone else to the fact that Harry was leaving.

Harry sighed slightly, "I'm going for a walk, Hermione, have you got a problem with that?"

Hermione, slightly surprised at the forcefulness in his tone, just stuttered out a "No, of course not, Harry."

Harry turned round and left, promising that he wouldn't be long. But before he could clamber through Archibald's portrait he heard Ron say in a hushed whisper, "Leave him be, Hermione, you know what he's been through."

"I know, but I'm worried about him," was Hermione's whispered reply, and Harry couldn't help but smile at his friend's concern.

Harry was once again on the Astronomy Tower when Hermione and Ron finally decided to come after him. "You said you weren't going to be long," Hermione said, an almost accusatory tone in her voice.

"Lost track of time," was Harry's only reply. After a few moments of silence, Harry realised that they weren't going to leave anytime soon and so he turned round to face them, "What do you want now?" He asked, sighing slightly.

"There's no need to sound like that, "Hermione started, "you make it sound like we've been pestering you non-stop."

"Yeah, mate," Ron agreed, "I mean, come on, we only want to know what's up."

"Don't go hiding things from us now."

"Besides, you're a terrible liar," Ron added.

"Hey! I'm not that bad!" Harry protested.

"You kind of are, Harry," Hermione disagreed.

"Well, when it comes to lying to us at least."

"You're like an open book."

"Will you two stop that," Harry said, looking slightly irritated, "you're starting to sound like Fred and George." After a few more moments of Ron and Hermione not budging from their spots, clearly not planning on moving until they got some answers, Harry sighed again, "Alright, guys, you win. What do you want to know?"

"Why you've been acting strange recently…" Hermione started.

"...And why you've been avoiding us," Ron finished.

"One," Harry said, holding up a finger to illustrate his point," I have not been acting strangely. And two," he held up a second finger, "I have not been avoiding you, I just thought you'd want some space, some time alone together, you know?"

"Harry, what have we just established about you and lying and how you're terrible at it?" Hermione said, unconvinced by Harry's words.

"Right," Harry's shoulders sagged, annoyed at his friend's amazing ability to be able to see right through him all the time, "let's go somewhere more private." The Astronomy Tower was secluded enough, but still anyone could come up here, and Harry wanted somewhere he was sure that no one would overhear them.

"Lead the way," Ron said, and Harry led them to the Kitchens.

Once they were all seated at one of the benches in the Kitchens with a mug of tea each, Hermione asked, "So? The truth?"

Harry silently handed them the letter from Dumbledore, which he now carried everywhere with him, and they took it without question, albeit with slightly curious expressions. They read the letter in silence and once she was finished Hermione, who was a faster reader than Ron said, "Oh, Harry, why didn't you tell us?"

"Yeah, mate, did you think we wouldn't come with you or something?" Ron added, having finished the letter just seconds after Hermione.

"We will, you don't have to worry about that."

"You see, this is why I didn't tell you," Harry said, and Ron and Hermione's confused looks were evident on their faces.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"I don't want you to come with me," Harry replied simply.

"Why not?" Ron questioned, a slightly hurt look crossing his features.

"Look, you've both had enough adventure to last a lifetime, it's time you both got on with your own lives and had some normalcy in it. Besides that, you wouldn't really understand," Harry explained.

"Try us," Ron said.

"Look, you both grew up in loving, caring families. I didn't. This will be really difficult for me, and I need someone there who will at least sort of understand what I'm going through."

"I can understand that," Hermione nodded slightly, "but Harry who's going with you?"

Harry flushed slightly and under his breath muttered, "Malfoy."

"Pardon?" Hermione asked, unable to hear Harry's answer.

"Malfoy's coming with me," Harry said, louder this time.

Ron, who had been taking a sip of his pumpkin juice, comically sprayed it everywhere at Harry's declaration, "I'm sorry, did you just say that  _Malfoy's_  going with you?"

Harry just nodded.

"Have you gone mental?" Ron exclaimed, glaring at Hermione when she elbowed him in the ribs.

"I'm sure he has his reasons."

"Yeah, but it's Malfoy."

Harry scowled. "I'm well aware of that, Ron. Look, Malfoy didn't have the best childhood either. He may have been raised by his parents, but from what he told me it was pretty tough. I won't go into details because I respect his privacy, but trust me when I say that he'll understand. He's probably one of the only people I know who knows what it's like to have your childhood ripped away from you, to be forced to grow up too quickly. Well, apart from Snape, but there's no way I'm taking him to America with me. That's just a disaster waiting to happen."

"America?" Hermione echoed.

Harry nodded, "Dumbledore told me they're in Massachusetts."

Ron sighed, "I still don't agree with this, but if it's what you want then who am I to argue with that? But if he hurts you in any way I won't hesitate to hex him."

"We've put all that behind us."

"The threat still stands though."

"Ron, I trust him, and you should trust me."

"I do. But, mate, there's still one problem."

"What's that?"

"Malfoy's just been arrested, and if you don't do something about that soon, then he isn't going anywhere with you."

"You're right," Harry glanced from Ron to Hermione, "looks like we're off to the Ministry again."

* * *

An hour later, Harry, Ron and Hermione had arrived at the Ministry of Magic and were headed straight for Kingsley's office. Once there, Harry sharply knocked on his door and Kingsley's deep voice could be heard saying "Enter" from within.

Kingsley looked up from his desk as the trio walked in, and a brief look of surprised crossed his face, "Potter, Weasley, Granger! What are you doing here this late at night?"

"I want to testify," Harry said simply.

The look of surprise on Kingsley's face transformed into a look of confusion, "Testify? What are you on about?"

"The Malfoy, Snape and Black trials," Harry clarified, "I want to testify on their behalf."

Kingsley's look of confusion did not seem to disappear though, "Trials? I'm sorry, Harry, but I don't have a clue what you're on about. I haven't ordered for the Malfoys or Professor Snape to be arrested. And as far as I'm aware, both Sirius and Regulus Black are dead."

A look of confusion matching Kingsley's crossed Harry's face, "A bunch of Aurors just came to Hogwarts just over two hours ago and arrested them, Regulus included, who by the way is very much alive."

"Who was in charge?" Kingsley asked, trying to make sense of the situation.

"He never gave his name, but he was tall, with dark hair, maybe in his mid-forties, seemed rather arrogant… Oh! He said he was the Head Auror."

"Alesworth! I specifically told him, no I ordered him, not to go arrest them!" Kingsley exclaimed, annoyance very evident in his voice. Taking his wand out, he sent his lynx Patronus to fetch the Head Auror. Minutes later, Alesworth knocked on the door, and after Kingsley's confirmation for him to enter, he stepped through the door. He looked a little confused as to why he had been summoned, though this look of confusion soon turned into a glare as he spotted Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"Go wait outside," Kingsley said to the trio and they left without question.

The three of them stood in silence outside Kingsley's office, unable to hear anything that was going on inside and waiting for the moment that they could go back in. They didn't have to wait long, as barely five minutes later, Alesworth stormed out, an angry look on his face. He glared viciously at Harry and hissed, "This is all your fault, Potter, mark my words, I will get you back for this."

Harry's face betrayed no emotion - not that he was particularly fazed by Alesworth's words anyway. Harry doubted whether he would actually do anything; empty threats weren't uncommon to Harry and after Voldemort, Alesworth was more like an annoyance, instead of the actual threat that Voldemort had been.

After Alesworth had stormed away, the trio went back into Kingsley's office. "What did you do?" Hermione asked.

"Demoted him. He's just a regular Auror now, which means I'm going to have to find a new Head Auror…" Kingsley's gaze switched from Hermione to Harry. "I've sent for the Malfoys, Snape and Black to be fetched from Azkaban and brought here. I'm moving their trials up to today, so Harry if you want to testify you have an hour to prepare. Regulus Black will be up first, followed by the Malfoys and then Snape."

"Okay," Harry nodded.

* * *

An hour later they were all gathered in one of the trial chambers waiting for the first trial to begin. Harry had known pretty much straight away how he was going to testify - his memories would be enough to exonerate Narcissa and Draco and Snape's memories would be enough to exonerate him. Lucius and Regulus, however, were slightly more difficult. For Lucius, he would have to rely on the fact that he defected during the Battle of Hogwarts, and even that wasn't a very strong defence. For Regulus, he figured his memories of the locket Horcrux would have to be enough and hoped Regulus's memories would help to back that up. He had also figured that he had better clear it up with Snape first, since he was using his memories, and Snape, though surprised that Harry was testifying for them, had agreed that he could use them, as long as he left out the more personal ones that weren't relevant to the trial.

"Quiet!" Kingsley's voice boomed out, and Harry looked up to see his wand pressed to his throat, the  _Sonorus_  spell in effect. After the chamber had quietened down, Kingsley returned his voice for its normal volume before beginning the trial. "Disciplinary hearing of the fourth of May into offences committed under the Muggle Protection Act of 1992, the Act of 1717 which states the illegality of the Unforgivable Curses, the Act of 1975 which states equal rights for all magical beings, beasts and spirits, and the Decree for the Restriction of Dark Magic of 1955, by Regulus Arcturus Black, former resident of number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London, current residence unknown, Draco Lucius Malfoy, Lucius Abraxas Malfoy and Narcissa Isla Malfoy née Black, residents at Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire, and Severus Tobias Snape, resident at Spinner's End, Cokeworth.

"Interrogators: Kingsley Shacklebolt, Acting Minister for Magic; Mafalda Hopkirk, Acting Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Felicity Simons, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic; Gawain Robards, Acting Head of the Auror Office. Court Scribe: Percy Ignatius Weasley. Witness for the defence: Harry James Potter, resident at number four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey.

"The charges are as follows. Regulus Arcturus Black: that he did knowingly, deliberately and in full awareness of the illegality of his actions use all three Unforgivable Curses multiple times, which constitutes an offence under Section One of the Unforgivable Curses Act of 1717; that he forcefully promoted pureblood supremacy, which constitutes an offence under Section Eight of the Equal Rights Act of 1975; that he frequently used outlawed Dark Magic, which constitutes an offence under Paragraph B of the Decree for the Restriction of Dark Magic of 1955; and that he willingly accepted the Dark Mark, which constitutes an offence under Paragraph H of the Decree for the Restriction of Dark Magic of 1955.

"Draco Lucius Malfoy; that he did knowingly, deliberately and in full awareness of the illegality of his actions use two of the Unforgivable Curses more than once, which constitutes an offence under Section One of the Unforgivable Curses Act of 1717; that he promoted pureblood supremacy, which constitutes an offence under Section Eight of the Equal Rights Act of 1975; that he used outlawed Dark Magic, which constitutes an offence under Paragraph B of the Decree for the Restriction of Dark Magic of 1955; and that he willingly accepted the Dark Mark, which constitutes an offence under Paragraph H of the Decree for the Restriction of Dark Magic of 1955.

"Lucius Abraxas Malfoy; that he did knowingly, deliberately and in full awareness of the illegality of his actions possess potentially harmful bewitched Muggle artefacts with the intent to distribute them to Muggles, which constitutes an offence under Section Four of the Muggle Protection Act of 1992; that he did distribute potentially harmful magical artefacts to Muggles, which constitutes an offence under Section Two of the Muggle Protection Act of 1992; that he performed magic, dark or otherwise, on Muggles for the entertainment of himself and others, which constitutes an offence under Section One of the Muggle Protection Act of 1992; that he used all three Unforgivable Curses multiple times, which constitutes an offence under Section One of the Unforgivable Curses Act of 1717; that he forcefully promoted pureblood supremacy, which constitutes an offence under Section Eight of the Equal Rights Act of 1975; that he frequently used outlawed Dark Magic, which constitutes an offence under Paragraph B of the Decree for the Restriction of Dark Magic of 1955; and that he willingly accepted the Dark Mark, which constitutes an offence under Paragraph H of the Decree for the Restriction of Dark Magic of 1955.

"Narcissa Isla Malfoy; that she did knowingly, deliberately and in full awareness of the illegality of her actions possess potentially harmful bewitched Muggle artefacts with the intent to distribute them to Muggles, which constitutes an offence under Section Four of the Muggle Protection Act of 1992; that she forcefully promoted pureblood supremacy, which constitutes an offence under Section Eight of the Equal Rights Act of 1975; that she used outlawed Dark Magic, which constitutes an offence under Paragraph B of the Decree for the Restriction of Dark Magic of 1955; and that she harboured many known, wanted Death Eaters, which constitutes an offence under Paragraph D of the Decree for the Restriction of Dark Magic of 1955.

"And finally Severus Tobias Snape; that he did knowingly, deliberately and in full awareness of the illegality of his actions perform magic, dark or otherwise, on Muggles for the entertainment of himself and others, which constitutes an offence under Section One of the Muggle Protection Act of 1992; that he used all three Unforgivable Curses multiple times, which constitutes an offence under Section One of the Unforgivable Curses Act of 1717; that he frequently used outlawed Dark Magic, which constitutes an offence under Paragraph B of the Decree for the Restriction of Dark Magic of 1955; and that he willingly accepted the Dark Mark, which constitutes an offence under Paragraph H of the Decree for the Restriction of Dark Magic of 1955."

To say that Harry was shocked was an understatement; he had no idea that there would be that many charges facing them. The only one that he wasn't sure he would be able to get the charges dropped on was Lucius Malfoy; the charges against him just seemed too great, especially since the only thing working in his favour was the fact that he had defected and not fought in the Battle of Hogwarts - he hadn't helped Harry directly, like Draco and Narcissa had, but he hadn't really hindered him either. He was brought out of his thoughts by Hermione nudging him, and he realised that Kingsley had called him up to testify for Regulus Black.

Slowly and nervously he went up and began to explain how he had found a fake locket in replacement for the real Horcrux which had a note inside which suggested that whoever had found it was intent on destroying it. He explained how he later found out that it was Regulus who had stolen the Horcrux, having had second thoughts about joining the Death Eaters. Regulus backed up Harry's explanation with his own memories, and also provided memories which showed that he had been forced to join Voldemort by his parents and how he had had to fake his death after betraying Voldemort in order to protect himself.

After Regulus came Draco, and Harry was more confident about testifying this time. He showed his memories of that night on the Astronomy Tower, where Draco had been lowering his wand and said that Voldemort would have killed him if he didn't kill Dumbledore, and that night in Malfoy Manor, where Draco had refused to positively identify him as Harry Potter. Draco admitted that his situation had been a lot like Regulus's in that he had been forced to join Voldemort by his father, and that many of the things he did he did to protect his mother.

Next came Lucius, and this time Harry was at a bit of a loss as to what to say. Finally he managed to explain how, during the final battle, Lucius had not fought at all, and was only concerned with keeping his family safe. Lucius managed to come up with more of a defence for himself, though it was still pretty weak. He provided memories from when he first joined Voldemort which showed that he had been attracted to his power and charisma more than to Dark Magic in general and how at first he had been reluctant to perform some of the tasks the Dark Lord wished, such as torturing innocent Muggles and Muggle-borns. He explained how he had been corrupted by the Dark Magic and that once he had started down that dark path there was no going back for him. He also explained how near the end of the war he became more concerned with protecting his family and had grown wary of the power the Dark Lord was gaining.

Harry thought that he sounded pretty convincing, but Lucius Malfoy was known to be a great manipulator and so Harry wouldn't be surprised if many members of the Wizengamot were taken in by his defence.

When it came to Narcissa's trial, Harry provided a memory which showed her saving his life in the Forbidden Forest and Narcissa provided her memory of making the Unbreakable Vow to protect her son. Harry also explained how, during the final battle, she did not fight, and instead occupied herself with looking for her son.

The last trial was Snape's, and this was probably the trial Harry was most nervous about. But, he managed to calmly provide the memories Snape had given him, including the memories of Snape and Dumbledore's conversations where Snape turned spy for the Order and the many instances in which Snape had saved Harry's life or helped him in some way.

After Snape said he had no more to add, Kingsley dismissed them all while the Wizengamot decided the fate of each person.

Outside the chamber, Harry was nervously pacing up and down, running a hand through his already messy hair.

"Harry, it'll be okay," Hermione tried to reassure, "the Wizengamot are fair, and you did a brilliant job in testifying."

Harry stopped in his pacing to look at Hermione, "But what if it wasn't enough? Blimey, Hermione, you heard the amount of charges laid against them! I can't let them go to Azkaban, it's just not right."

"Not even Malfoy Sr.?" Ron said in surprise, his eyebrows raised.

Harry's gaze shifted from Hermione to Ron, "I may not like him, and I didn't do this for him, I did it for Narcissa and Draco."

"But why?" Ron seemed genuinely confused.

"Because both of them saved my life," Harry said in a tone which suggested he didn't want to talk about it anymore.

Thankfully, Ron seemed to get the message, though the glare Hermione was sending his way probably helped.

Half an hour later, they were called back in, and Harry was fidgeting in his seat as they waited for the verdict.

"Regulus Arcturus Black," Kingsley began, "has been cleared of all charges. Draco Lucius Malfoy has been cleared of all charges. Lucius Abraxas Malfoy has not been cleared of all charges. We have taken his defection into account, but due to the severity and large number of crimes committed by him, he will be placed under house arrest for a year and his wand will be taken away for two years. After the two years is up, it will be up to the Wizengamot at the time to decide whether he should get his wand back. In addition, Malfoy Manor will be seized until we can be certain that no dark objects and books remain, once Malfoy Manor has been cleared of any and all dark objects and books, it will be returned to the Malfoy family. Narcissa Isla Malfoy has been cleared of all charges. Severus Tobias Snape, due to his role as a spy, has been cleared of all charges."

Harry let out a deep sigh of relief. He wasn't surprised that Lucius had received some form of punishment, though it was probably more lenient than most people expected. At least this way he could still have some form of life, even if it would be difficult for him to adjust to a life without magic, especially when his family could still use it, but Harry suspected that even Lucius would admit that a life without magic but with his family was better than a life spent in Azkaban.

Harry glanced over to where the Malfoys were sitting and his eyes locked with Draco's, "Thank you", Draco mouthed and Harry just nodded slightly as if to say "No problem".

* * *

After the trial, Harry, Ron and Hermione went straight back to Hogwarts, along with Severus and Regulus who were eager to see Alex and Izzy. The Malfoys had had to stay behind to sort out where they would live while the Ministry was searching Malfoy Manor and Lucius had to be taken through the rules of his house arrest.

Ron and Hermione went back to the Gryffindor Common Room while Harry made his way to the Kitchens, suddenly hungry. However, on the way he ran into the one person he didn't want to talk to, yet knew he should.

"Harry, we need to talk," Ginny said, and from the tone of her voice Harry guessed that she had probably been looking for him for a while.

Harry groaned internally, he had wanted to avoid this conversation with Ginny until he had gotten back from America, but as luck would have it, she wanted to talk to him now. Though in hindsight, it probably was better that he talked to her sooner rather than later, he didn't want to lead her on after all. "What about?" He asked, trying to feign ignorance, however he had already failed miserably; Ginny, like Hermione, had always been able to see right through him, they could always read him like he was an open book.

"You know what about," Ginny said, "about us getting back together," she clarified, knowing that he could be as dense as Ron sometimes.

"Look, Ginny-" Harry sighed.

"Save your breath, Harry," Ginny cut him off, "it's okay. I know how you feel."

"You do?" Harry asked, surprised.

Ginny nodded. "I do. Because I feel the same. I love you, but in a more brotherly way now."

Harry let out a sigh of relief, thankful that the conversation had turned out to be a lot easier than he had thought it would be. "Thanks, Gin. But how did you know that's how I felt."

Ginny shrugged, "Women's intuition?" Then she added, a teasing note to her voice, "Besides which, when we were dating, you spent half the time being obsessed with Malfoy."

"I did not!" Harry replied indignantly and a little too quickly. The slight flush that crossed his cheeks gave him away though.

Ginny just laughed as she walked away.

* * *

"Draco! You're back!" Pansy ran up to her best friend as soon as he had stepped into the Slytherin Common Room and hugged him tightly, glad to see him safe and sound. Harry had stopped by the Slytherin Common Room earlier to let Pansy and Blaise know how the trial had gone, figuring they would appreciate hearing that Draco had been cleared of all charges. Pansy was so happy that she had nearly hugged Harry, despite her wanting to give him up to Voldemort only a few days before. Blaise had just nodded and said "Thanks" and then Harry had left, starting to feel uncomfortable since everyone's eyes in the Common Room were on him.

"Pansy! Let me go! I can't breathe!" Draco exclaimed, though despite his protestations, he still hugged her back anyway.

"Sorry," Pansy said as she released him, though she didn't actually look in the least bit sorry.

"It is good to have you back though," Blaise said, clapping him on the back.

"Merlin, you two are making it sound like I've been gone for months, I was only at the Ministry." Draco was actually pretty touched that they were so concerned for him, they were the only true friends he had ever had and they had all known each other since they were babies, Draco really didn't know what he'd do without them.

"Yeah, where you're fate was being decided."

"I hear Potter testified for you and your parents…" Blaise said nonchalantly.

"And Professor Snape," Pansy added.

"Er, yeah, he did," Draco replied, not really sure where they were going with this.

"Why?" Blaise asked, genuinely curious.

Draco shrugged, pretending to be uninterested, "I don't know, probably that hero complex of his." He said as he sat on one of the couches by the fire.

Blaise and Pansy exchanged a look that meant neither were particularly convinced by Draco's explanation before they sat down on either side of him. "Anyway, Blaise's mother has invited us all to France for a couple of weeks before they start rebuilding Hogwarts, you up for it?"

"Sorry, but I can't, I have other plans," Draco frowned slightly.

"You have other plans?" Pansy repeated.

"Yes. I'm going to America."

"America?" Blaise repeated this time.

"Yes," Draco confirmed, not liking the direction this line of questioning was going.

"With who?" Pansy asked.

"No one," Draco said hurriedly, though he knew that Blaise and Pansy could tell he was lying.

"Draco Lucius Malfoy, you know you can't lie to me!" Pansy started hitting Draco's arm with the book that was in her hand, as if thinking this would get the answer out of him.

"Ow!" Draco tried to fend her off, but it was no use, and Pansy just kept coming, "Blaise control her! She's turned into a madwoman!" Blaise, though, just looked amused, and had no intention of coming to Draco's aid. "Fine, fine!" Draco finally acquiesced, "I'm going with Potter!"

"Potter?" Blaise questioned, confused.

"Must you repeat everything I say?" Draco asked, an irritated note in his voice.

Blaise ignored the question. "Why are you going to America with Potter of all people?"

"I can't say," Draco said, hoping they wouldn't press him for more information.

Pansy studied him for a moment, as if hoping the truth would appear out of thin air, though they all knew that wasn't going to happen, "Fine," she said, realising that they would not get any more information out of their friend, "but you didn't have to keep it a secret though, we know you have a thing for him."

"What?" Draco asked, managing to stay cool and calm on the outside, as if he really didn't have any idea what they were going on about, "I don't have a thing for him."

"You do, Draco," Blaise chimed in, "you have since day one, but I don't think you realised it 'til fourth year."

"Was I that obvious?" Draco spluttered slightly, his cool, calm, Malfoy façade lost.

"No, but me and Pansy have known you all your life. We just know you."

"You don't hate me, do you?" Draco asked, hating the vulnerability that crept into his voice.

"Don't be silly, Draco, it's gonna take more than you fancying Potter for us to stop being your friends." Pansy reassured.

"But you both hate him," Draco said, his confusion at their acceptance slipping into his voice.

"So? It's your life, who are we to dictate who you fall for? Besides, even if we did disapprove, you're far too stubborn to take any notice of us," Blaise smiled slightly, "and I think he'd be good for you anyway."

"Thanks guys," Draco said, a small relieved smile creeping onto his face, "anyway, it'll probably be better if it's just you two going to France, I won't feel like a third wheel then."

"What?" Blaise asked, confused.

"Nothing!" Pansy practically shrieked, glaring at Draco who was currently trying to stifle a laugh.

* * *

After giving up his wand and being informed of the rules of his house arrest, Lucius, along with Narcissa, had returned to Hogwarts while the Ministry sorted out somewhere for them to live temporarily while the Manor was being searched. They were sat in the Great Hall (which had now been cleared of bodies), both of them relieved at the verdict of Lucius's trial. Both of them had believed that he would be sentenced to Azkaban, even with the Boy Who Lived testifying on his behalf. It hadn't quite hit Lucius yet that he wouldn't be able to use magic for two years, maybe even more if the Wizengamot decided to prolong his sentence after the two years were up, and Narcissa knew that she would have to keep her husband busy, have to take his mind off the fact that he had lost his wand, otherwise he might sink into depression. After all, it wouldn't be the first time he'd have done so.

"You should talk to him," Narcissa said simply, eyes darting about the ruins of the Great Hall, knowing for certain that she would help rebuild it, along with the rest of Hogwarts.

"About what?" Lucius asked, there was no doubt in his mind about who she was on about, there was only one person she could be on about. Their son.

Narcissa's eyes moved to him, her expression saying 'you know what'.

Lucius apparently did know what, he had just been buying time, trying to put off the conversation for just that little longer, for it was a conversation he really didn't want to have, "I already told him he doesn't have to marry Astoria, what more do you want from me?"

Narcissa gave him a stern look, "The two of you have never had the best relationship, you need to make amends with him, he needs to know that you'll accept him, no matter what. Or do you really want your only son to resent you for the rest of his life?"

Lucius let out a sigh, "I'll go talk to him."

"Yes, you will."

Lucius shot a glare at his wife as he stood up, who just gave a very Slytherin-like smirk in return.

* * *

Lucius found his son in the Slytherin Common Room with his two best friends and took a deep breath before walking over to him. "Draco, we need to talk."

Draco looked up at his father, alarm briefly flickering across his features, "What about? You're not going to tell me that you were joking before and that I really do have to marry Astoria?"

"Malfoys do not joke," Lucius said, his face a stoic mask. Though his words did make Draco feel better, at least he knew for sure his father wouldn't force him into an arranged marriage.

"Speak for yourself," Draco muttered, before saying, "what is it father?"

"Come take a walk with me."

Draco hesitated for a moment, not really wanting to be alone with his father, though a nudge from Pansy soon made him stand up and follow him out of the Common Room. Lucius lead them outside and once they were out of earshot of any people, Lucius spoke, "Draco, I want you to know that I do love you-"

"Well you have a funny way of showing it." Draco interjected.

Lucius ignored his comment and just continued on, "And that I'll always support you in whatever you want to do with your life."

"Why don't I believe that?" Draco said, more to himself than to his father, though Lucius heard anyway.

"Draco, your mother told me that I needed to talk to you, to make amends with you. But I can't do that if you won't co-operate with me."

"So you're only doing this because mother told you to, and not because you want to?" Draco said, irritation and a hint of anger clear in his voice.

"That's not what I said," Lucius tried to stay calm, knowing that things wouldn't end well if he got angry, "I do want to make amends with you, I hate how I've treated you in the past, I guess I haven't tried before now because… I figured you wouldn't want anything to do with me anymore. Your mother gave me the push I needed."

Draco nodded, thoughtful, and the two carried on walking in silence for a bit before Draco finally spoke, "Does it bother you? That I'm gay, I mean. And I want the truth."

Lucius shook his head, "It doesn't bother me. It'd be hypocritical of me if it did."

Draco stopped suddenly at that, unsure if he had heard his father right, "You what?"

Lucius stopped as well, and turned to face his son, "Draco, it was no secret in school that I preferred my own sex."

"But what about mother?" Draco asked, thoroughly confused.

"I love her, but only as a friend. We were forced into an arranged marriage. But there was only ever one person for me."

"Don't tell me it's Severus," Draco said seriously.

"Don't be ridiculous, Draco, Severus is like a brother to me. Besides that, you know he's in a relationship with Regulus Black."

"Right, okay," Draco said, trying to wrap his head around the fact that his father wasn't as straight as he had always thought he was. "Who is it then?"

"That is a story for another time," Lucius said somewhat wistfully, a look of sadness in his eyes.

"Do you still see him though?" Draco asked, eager for details.

Lucius shook his head, "No. He died. He was killed by Voldemort."

"Oh," Draco said, not knowing what else to say.

"Maybe it was for the best that we couldn't be together."

"What do you mean?"

"Let's just say, Draco, that if I had stayed with him, the Dark Lord would most likely still be in power."

Draco just looked confused, but decided not to press the subject, knowing he wasn't likely to get any more information out of his father.

"Anyway, enough of me, tell me about you?"

"What about me?"

"Your love life," Lucius clarified.

Draco suddenly looked uncomfortable, he really didn't want to discuss with his father how he had a crush on Harry Potter of all people. Somehow he thought that his father wouldn't approve, despite the fact that he had testified for all of them. "There's not much to tell really."

"You mean there isn't someone who's caught your eye?"

Draco looked away, he never could lie to his father and so he just chose to stay silent. That was all the answer that Lucius needed, but he decided not to push, knowing his son would tell when he was ready.

The two of them carried on walking throughout the grounds of Hogwarts, and it was at least another hour before either of them spoke again.

"I want to apologise," Lucius began.

"For what?" Draco asked.

"For your childhood," Lucius elaborated, "it's my fault. I forced you to grow up too fast."

"Father-" Draco began to interject.

"No, hear me out, son," Lucius interjected this time, "I shouldn't have treated you the way I did. The Dark Lord had corrupted my mind – believe it or not, I wasn't always like that. But he has this certain influence over you. I had always been interested in the Dark Arts, and so he used that to this advantage. Add to that my fear for my family and friend's safety, and my distraught over my lover's death, and well… I know it doesn't really excuse my actions, but I want, I need you to understand why I am like I am, the man you saw as a child is not who I really am. I was in a dark place then, and now that the Dark Lord is gone I can be myself again. Or at least try to, I don't know if I can ever truly go back to who I was in school. I'm sorry for how I was when you were growing up, and I'm trying to change. I'm trying to be a better person, and I think living without magic will certainly help that. I want to be a part of your life, so please don't shut me out, Draco."

To say that Draco was surprised by his father's confession would be an understatement, he had never heard his father be so open about his feelings before, it was so out of character for him, but he figured that Lucius thought it would be the only way to repair his relationship with his son, and Draco understood and respected that. It was also the first time Draco had ever heard his father say please, it was the first time he had ever heard his father beg (excluding all encounters with the Dark Lord of course), and this showed Draco just how much his father cared about him, because Lucius Malfoy did not beg. All his life, Draco had thought he was just a disappointment, never living up to his father's standards, but now it seemed that that was not the case, that his father really did care for him.

"All I ever wanted was to make you proud of me, all I ever wanted was for you to notice my achievements instead of my failings. I won every single Quidditch match I played against Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, but instead of congratulating me you would just point out that I still couldn't beat Harry Potter. I got the highest mark in Potions, but you constantly reminded me that a Muggle-born beat me in every other class. Back in first year, I tried to befriend Harry Potter, get close to him, in the hopes that you would think I would try and manipulate him, bring him over to 'our' side, but you just taunted me because I failed. It wasn't until my sixth year at Hogwarts, when you made me take the Dark Mark, that I realised just how stupid I'd been, that I realised that no matter what I did you would never be proud of me, or respect me, that I would always be a disappointment to you. From then on, everything I did was about surviving, I didn't care what you thought anymore. You know back at the Manor when the Snatchers brought Potter to us? Yeah, I knew it was him. But you know why I wouldn't identify him as Harry Potter? It was because I wanted that damn war over with, I wanted Voldemort dead, and I knew only Potter would be able to do it. But more than that, I wanted to prove to myself that I'm not like you, which was all I wanted to be when I was a child. But now I know better. Yeah, I forgive you for my shitty childhood, and I want you to be a part of my life. But don't expect to suddenly be a happy family like you want, you're going to have to make an effort, and it won't be easy. You say you can change? Well then prove it." Draco let out a deep breath, glad to finally have told his father exactly what he thought, it was like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He felt like he could finally put the past behind him, and move on with his life.

Lucius, on the other hand, seemed, for the first time in his life, speechless. He had not expected an ultimatum from his son, but at the same time, he probably deserved it. Not knowing what else to say, he said the only thing he could think of that could possibly make his relationship with his son better, "Draco, I will always be proud of you, and you will never be a disappointment to me, no matter what you do with your life. I'm sorry if I made you think that way, I was so blind by my own selfish wants and desires, that I overlooked what was truly important, and that was my family."

Draco let out a small smile, finally hearing the words that he had always wanted to hear. He knew it wouldn't be easy, he had never been on the best of terms with his father, but now that the war was over and he could live his life how he wanted, he could focus on repairing the dysfunctional relationship he had with his father.

* * *

In another part of the castle, Harry was walking purposefully down a first floor corridor, looking for a certain blonde Slytherin that had seemed to have disappeared. No matter where he looked, he couldn't seem to find him, and he was just starting to think that maybe he was no longer in the castle when he almost walked right into Fred and George.

"Hello, Harry," the twins said simultaneously.

"Er, hi, guys," Harry replied, not looking at them, but instead looking behind them at the corridor beyond, as if expecting Draco to magically appear there.

"Looking for someone?" They both asked, and Harry thought that them speaking together would never stop being weird.

"No." Harry said quickly, too quickly, "Why would you think that?" He asked, his tone clearly defensive, and suggesting that they had been spot on in their assumptions.

"There's no need to get defensive…" Fred started.

"…We just wanted to know if we could help?" George finished.

"Erm, thanks, but I'll be fine." Harry said, not really wanting to involve more people in this plans to go to America with Draco.

"So you are looking for someone," Fred accused.

"Maybe," Harry hedged.

"Who is it?" George asked.

"We might have seen them," Fred added.

"You won't believe me."

"Try us."

"Draco," Harry said as quietly as possible, though the twins still heard him anyway.

"Malfoy?" They echoed together.

"Do we know anyone else with the name Draco? Have you seen him?" Harry asked, starting to get slightly irritated.

"As a matter of fact…" Fred said.

"We just saw him outside…" George continued.

"He was talking to his father…"

"The git." George finished.

"Thanks," Harry muttered, moving to walk round Fred and George and towards the stairs, but the twins blocked him.

"Now, Harry." Fred said, a smirk on his face.

"Why would you be looking for Malfoy of all people?" George asked, a matching smirk on his face.

"Does it matter?"

"Yes."

"Yes, it does."

"Fine," Harry sighed, "if you must know, we're going to America together."

"Harry, you're not trying to elope are you?"

"Because you don't have to go America to do that. The British Ministry of Magic is just as accepting."

"What! No!" Harry exclaimed, blushing slightly, "He's just helping me to find my parents!" Then his mouth suddenly snapped shut and his eyes widened in horror at what he had just revealed. "Bugger."

"Your parents?" Fred and George looked at each other, twin looks of confusion on their faces.

"Look, guys, promise you won't tell anyone. Too many people already know, and I don't want anyone else to know. I promise I'll explain later."

"Don't worry, Harry."

"Your secret's safe with us."


End file.
